Hearing of compensation case against EACOP flops over missing court file

Masaka, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The hearing of applications against the construction works of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project has flopped due to the missing court files.

A section of the EACOP-affected persons from Kyotera, Lwengo, and Rakai districts filed two applications before the Masaka High Court seeking to halt the execution of the oil pipeline works until they receive appropriate compensation for their properties.

The application for stay of execution and interim order against the project challenges the decision of Masaka High Court Judge Lawrence Tweyanze, which, in October last year, granted the government permission for the compulsory acquisition of land from a section of project-affected persons who were dissatisfied with the compensation fees and accordingly declined it.

Court granted the application by the Attorney General to proceed with acquiring land for the demarcated pipeline route, from 81 people who had protested the valuation and declined to vacate their properties demarcated for removal.

The trial judge also allowed the government permission to deposit with the court 771.69 million shillings; the collective compensation value for the resistant project affected persons, who would pick up the money at their convenience.

However, a section of the project-affected persons appealed against the ruling, arguing that they were never allowed a fair hearing during the hearing of the application for compulsory acquisition of their properties.

The petitioners led by Vincent Birumuye, a resident Lukoma village in Kakuuto sub-county, Kyotera district, filed applications for a stay of execution of the project and depositing of the fees with the court until their appeal for prompt, fair and adequate compensation is heard and determined.

The hearing of both applications was scheduled to commence on Monday, before Masaka High Court Judge Fatuma Nanziri Bwanika, but failed to kick off because the case file could not be located.

The applicants, who included men and women, sat in the courtroom as early as 09 am waiting for the applications to be heard in vain, after their files could not be traced in the registry.

Peter Arinaitwe, the lawyer to the applicants, indicates that his clients had responded to the hearing notice of their application that was sent to them, but to their disappointment, the Court Clerk spent a better part of the morning searching for the file without a trace.

He expressed concern that any further delays in the hearing of the matter would have a grave impact on his clients because the project implementers are proceeding to take over their properties without prior compensation.

Hassan Kabumbuli, one of the project affected persons in Kigimbi village, Rakai district, is suspicious that files could be hidden deliberately, as a plot to frustrate the applicants.

He disputes the value of 12.5 million shillings awarded to him for 2 acres of land against his expectation of at least 15 million shillings per acre.

He, however indicates that they are not about to give up on the pursuit of revaluation of their properties despite the frustration.

But one of the Court Clerks who preferred not to be named noted that the file could be among the batch of cases that are awaiting at the desk of Lady Justice Victoria Nakintu Katamba, who at the moment is out of the duty station.

Meanwhile, the State also had no representation at the court when the applicants showed up on Monday.

Notably, the government and partners are undertaking to construct a 30-meter-wide and 1,443-kilometre-long pipeline to transport Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima to the Chongoleani peninsula in Tanzania for export to the international market.

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